Library Girl
by Galateagirl
Summary: AU Sam Manson works at the local library. One day, riding home from work, she gets hit by a car, driven by none other than our favorite halfa. This first chapter is a prelude. DS
1. In which the trouble begins

I sigh, settling into the plastic green chair with a pile of brand-spankin'-new book next to her on the floor. Life is good.

I'm sixteen years old. I work at the local library and love my job. It gives me a reason to run off in the morning and to read books more than necessary, or even particularly healthy. Lisa, the awesome head librarian pays me fifteen dollars a week to shelve book and read and write summaries for new books when they come in. She calls me the 'page'. Sometimes I call her squire to get back at her, but she laughs it off. As I said, she's awesome.

I go to Casper High, not that anyone there could tell you that. I'm a shadow at school. Unknown and unnoticed. The goth-girl at the back of the classroom, who always has her head buried in a book.

I check my watch as I open the new book from Kate Constable. Four o'clock. Time for me to get home. Mom will kill me if I'm late again. _Damn._ I snatch up the book and run past the dark wood front desk. "Gotta go, Lisa. Bye!"

As I run out the white front door and down the steps, she calls, "Don't you dare burn those book like last time, Manson!" I laugh as I sprint for my bike. One time I had left a new book near the stove as I was coking dinner. Lisa was extremely pissed.

My baby leans against the black rail of the bike rack. In teal and silver, Tiara, as I call her is smooth and fast. I ride her to work everday and she never fails me. I throw the books in the wicker basket and strap them in. I carry a bungee cord at all times, just to carry books to and from work. I read a lot.

2….7…9…2. My birthday, the combination code for my bike lock. The stupid lock gets caught in the pokes of my front wheel again, but I manage to free it with an extra hard tug. With my loc safely stored, my helmet on and the books safe from harm, I'm ready to hit the road.

And hit it I do. I love the rush I get from biking as fast as I can down the sidewalk. On a Friday afternoon in March, there's very few people walking about. My legs pump and strand of hair work free of the small ponytail on top of my head. I need to blow them out of my face when they get in the way.

It takes about ten minutes to get from the library to the living part of town. Houses squashed next to each other, like people on a crowded subway train line the streets. They're all various shades of gray. When I spot nobody walking in front of me, I push my bike to the limits.

It feels like flying. I now once I stop I'll get a headache, but I can ignore that for now and just soar.

I sa the car backing out of the driveway in front of me. It just didn't process until it was too late and I was directly behind the car.

I get hit. Well, no, hit is when you're walking across the road and a car rams you. I basically get bumped.

But it's a hard bump. My bike falls over and the bungee cord undid itself. I'm thrown off the bike entirely and partially into the street. I'm probably all bruised and broken but all I can thin is, _Damn. I promised Lisa I wouldn't hurt the books. _

The car stops on top of my bike, and the driver and person in the passenger seat leap out. They run over and lean over me. One of them kneels next to me and raises my head by the back of my neck. He looks so concerned, I feel like giggling. But I can't. It's like I can't control myself.

The pain is really starting to set in. Like drowning in needles and Novacaine, prickly and yet gooey and stifling at the same time. I lick my lips and shut my eyes. I'm grimacing and in massive amounts of pain.

My bike lies there, mangled under the heavy wheels of the huge silvercar. Or is it an RV? I can't tell. Pain is clouding my mind. I whimper a little.

"Are you all right?" My attacker demands. I squint at him to get a better look at his face. Big blue eyes, wide and frightened are all I can see.

Before I can black out, I manage to mumble one thing.

"What the hell do you think?"


	2. In which Sam gets weirded out

**You know what's awesome? I have a fan! And I got a lot of chocolate for Easter! Whaa-hooooo!**

**PS. I realized Sam's birthday is off, so forgive me, anyone who cares or even noticed.**

First, I heard a murmur of voices. It wasn't really loud at all, kind of like a radio turned way down low. I could hear snatches of conversation, but I couldn't move, or respond. It was really creepy actually. Like being caught between being asleep and being awake.

Anyway, when I open my eyes, I see a white ceiling. At first I'm a little freaked out, because, hey. This is definitely not my dark-and-candle-filled room. But then my mom's worried face leans over me, and I groan, realization (and pain) hitting me.

"Oh, honey! We were so worried. We got a call from the hospital, telling how you were run other by a car-"

I lick my lips. "I didn't get run over." I state matter-of-factly. "I got bumped. By a teenage guy." I try to sit up, but my back feels painful and weird. I give up and sit back down. I turn to my mom, resplendent in fluorescent pink. "I hope we're suing him."

My father speaks this time. "Sue that poor boy? He was so kind, apologizing and everything. He was nearly in tears himself." He chuckled, leaning over a little. "Oh, no. But he said he's going to apologize personally later." He grins. "We invited his family to dinner next Friday!"

I attempt to turn over and curl up, but I can't. Instead I roll my eyes. "Fine. What's wrong with me?"

My mom's smile droops a bit. "Well, honey you needed to get twenty stitches on your back and three on your cheek. Mainly you got a little scraped up. Oh! And you sprained your ankle."

I groan, feeling the full force of the pain hit me. I slowly turn and throw my legs off the side of the side of the bed. One of my ankles has an air cast on it. Great. Just great.

My mom looks extremely worried. She cocks her head to the side. "Honey, what are you doing?"

I growl, reaching for the crutches someone has so kindly propped near the bed. "Going to the library. I need to explain to Lisa."

My mom follows me to the door. Luckily, I have had a lot of practice walking with crutches. You wouldn't believe how many trees I've fallen out of in the past. My mom looks at me dubiously. "Well, I suppose if you feel well enough. But let Alfonzo drive you."

I call breezily over my shoulder as I swing on my crutches down the hall. It turns out the room was in my house. My house is so huge; it's not surprising I didn't recognize it. "It's okay, mom. I can walk."

"But, honey-" Is all I hear before I slam the front door shut. I sigh, feeling the cold wind on my face. I'm wearing pajamas, but luckily, they can easily pass for regular clothes.

It takes about ten minutes for mom's chauffer to catch up with me. Alfonzo rolls down the window closest to the sidewalk I'm walking down. "Miss Manson, I fear your mother will be vehemently angry if you don't let me-"

I turn to him. "Alfonzo, there's a fifty in it for you if you circle the block a few times and tell mom you couldn't find me."

He takes off. Being rich has many privileges.

A few things I learned on the walk:

10 minutes on a bike ½ hour on crutches

The standard sympathy performance is running your eyes up and down the victim and giving a tight-lipped smile

Crutched really hurt your armpits after a while

I have to hop up the stair in the library. Lisa runs up to me, looking worried and wringing her eyes.

"Sam, honey! Are you okay?" She reaches out a hand to touch my hurt cheek. "You look terrible…"

I laugh a little, wincing from the pain in my cheek. "I'm fine, Lisa. I'm sorry about the books."

Lisa waves it off. "No matter, Sam honey. I'm sure the person who ran you over will pay it off." She gives me a worried look. "Shouldn't you be at home?"

I sigh. "My mom's being all over-bearing and sticking up for the jerk who ht me. Do you think I could stay here?"

Lisa's face softens. "Sure. Why don't you sit in the Young Adult's section? I'll bring some of the book that were delivered yesterday."

I smile at her. "Thank you." I hobble over to my green chair and sink into it. I reach behind me and grab the first book I feel. Vivian Vande Velde. Somebody's being kind. I settle in and sink into Companions of the Night.

OoOºOoOºOoOºOoOºOoOºOoO

Somebody's standing in front of me. Darn them! I'm at the part with the vampire hunter. "Whaddya want?"

I hear a male cough nervously. "Well, I wanted to apologize."

This makes me lower my book. Yep, it's him. Scruffy black hair, huge blue (guilt-filled) eyes. He's a bit taller than I remember, but my brain was probably addled from pain. He's about my age

I put the book down on my lap. "Okay."

He looks confused. "What do you mean, 'Okay'?"

I smirk. I love confusing boys. "Well, you said you wanted to. Does that mean you are going to, or did you change your mind coming here? Or was that he apology? I said, okay and was waiting for you to apologize." I cock my head to the side and mimic my mom, grinning.

He gives me a very odd look. Then his face clears. "Oh, I get it. You're still mad at me."

I answer him simply this time. "Damn straight. Now please leave before I start throwing books at you." I lift the book to my face, but I'm not really reading. Who can read when they have a guilt-crazed stalker?

He persists. "Look, I'm really sorry, okay? If it makes you feel any better, my permits been revoked and my sister's license has been suspended."

I snort. "Serves you right. You did hit me with a RV."

"Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle." He answers automatically. I give him a weird look.

"Ghost Assault Vehicle?" I ask.

He blushes. "Yeah, my parents are ghost hunters."

"Ah." This helps me place his face. "Good for them. Please leave."

He still doesn't leave. "Look, can I buy you lunch or something?"

I look at him confused. "Are you kidding? It's like, ten or something, isn't it?"

His turn to give me an odd look. "No. It's One p.m."

"Oh." This explains some things. "Well, I don't really feel like eating with my attacker." He plonks himself down on the armrest of my chair, and starts reading over my shoulder. "Do you know how annoying that is?" I inquire, shutting the book.

He grins at me and nods. "Yep. So, what books would you recommend?"

"Why don't you go ask Lisa?" I ask him.

"Because I'm trying to annoy you into letting me buy you lunch. So, do you find Gossip Girl a good book for guys my age?" Before I can warn him, he flips open the book. His eyes widen and he shuts the book. "I don't think I will ever be able to un-read that."

I laugh, but then look at him seriously. "You're not going anywhere?"

He turns to me, grinning. "Nope."

I shut the book. "Fine." I stand up and grab my crutches, wobbling.

He winces as he sees the effects of his actions. Serves him right. "I'm sorry." He says again.

I glare at him annoyed and stalk out of the library. Or do something as close to a stalk as one can get while on crutches.

He catches up to me right outside the library. We walk next to each other towards the Nasty Burger, side by side.

He gets uncomfortable first. HA! "So…" He says, not looking at me. "You work at the library?"

"Yep." Give them a simplistic answer and they will be forced to ask another question.

I'm right, of course. "Where do you go to school?"

I roll my eyes. Yes, I'm invisible, but that was idiotic. "I go to Casper High, with you."

He looks at me, for the first time since we left the library. "How do you know where I go to school?" He looks scared. Good.

"I know a lot about people. You're Danny Fenton, and you're sixteen years old. You managed to make it into regular Math this year, which surprised you, but you're favorite subject is astronomy. You dated Valerie for a little while, but broke up because of reasons unknown. Your best friend is Tucker, your parents are ghost hunters, your sister, Jazz wants to be a brain surgeon."

He gulps and holds open the door for me. "Thank you." I say, smiling at him sweetly. I slide into a booth. He sits opposite me.

"Do you stalk everybody at the school, or are you just the center of the gossip pool?" He demands.

I can't help it. I crack up. I sputter. "Are you kidding? Me, the Goth girl at the center of the gossip pool?" He looks worried, but then blushes and smiles.

I calm down and answer. "I'm invisible. Nobody sees me, so I get to listen in on a lot of conversations without people noticing."

He reaches out and pats my hand. "You're not invisible." He tells me kindly.

I point out. "I'm in four of your seven classes and you didn't realize I was there until you hit me with a car."

He winced. His hand is still on mine and I'm a little weirded out. I look pointedly at his hand and then at his face. He blushes and removes it.

Then an African American boy in our grade, the aforementioned tucker slides into the booth. "Hey man, who's the chick?" He raises an eyebrow at me.

I stick out a hand. "Sam Manson. Goth girl. I'm in six of your classes and I was recently the victim of a car accident." Danny winces again.

Tucker turns to him, astonished. "This is the girl you've been agonizing over?" He turns to me, laughing. "You should have heard him last night."

Danny clenches his teeth. "Tuck, shut up."

I turn to him and say, "Danny, can you get me a diet coke and a Double-veggie-veggie." I rub my ankle and put a pained look on my face. He immediately looks guilt stricken and gets up, running for the cash register.

Tucker snickers. "Good one."

I grin at him. "Thank you. What did he say?"

Tucker's face lights up. "He was going on and on about how he ran this beautiful girl and all these books over. He kept saying, "I felt so bad, I mean, I _hit _her, Tuck!"

I turn and raise an eyebrow at Danny's back. _He thinks I'm beautiful? _He could tell I'm looking at him and turns around. He gives me a small crooked smile. I immediately turn back to Tucker. The smile makes me feel weird, and I'm not sure I like it.

Tucker raises an eyebrow at me. I touch my hair self-consciously. "What?"

Tucker grins slowly. "I think you like him."

I look shocked. He's so wrong. "I do not like Danny. He ran me over with a freakin' RV, for crying out loud!"

He shakes his head, still grinning. "Whatever."

I run one hand up and down my arm and lean against the plastic red cushions. "What is he going to do about the books?"

Tucker rolls his eyes. "Right after he dropped you off at the hospital, he dragged into the nearest Barns and Noble, with all the battered copies of the books. He made the employees find all of the books and bought them to repay you."

Okay. Danny earns a few karma points in my mine. Okay, maybe a ton. He's definitely a cool person. A lot of people would have just given a lot of money to pay off all the books. He actually went out to buy the books.

Danny slides into the booth on Tucker's side and slides me the tray. I mutter, "Thanks." And sip my coke.

Tucker raises an eyebrow at my vegetarian meal. "What's with all the rabbit food?" He asks.

"I'm ultra-recyclo vegetarian." I say.

"What?" Tucker asks, looking disgusted.

"It means she doesn't eat anything with a face." Danny says.

I feel a jolt and look around at Tucker and Danny. They have the same shocked look I know I'm wearing. I giggle nervously. "Did anyone else get an extreme case of deja-vu?" I ask, my eyes wide.

Danny nods. Tucker shakes his head, as if trying to clear of thought.

I panic. It's just too weird. After taking a huge bite out of my sandwich and drinking my coke, I say, "Well, this was nice, but I've got to go back to my job."

Danny stands up. "I'll walk you back."

I look him in the eyes. He still looks guilty, but now it's more desperation. "No. I'm fine."

As I walk out of the restaurant, I can still feel him looking at me, confused and upset.


	3. In which Danny almost gets punched

**They got Deja vu because in the world of the actual show, they've said the exact same thing. I guess I didn't make that clear.**

I brush my teeth and look at my tired eyes in the mirror. _Ughhh..School. _March is the worst month of school. The end of school is dangerously close and tantalizing, but you aren't allowed to goof off.

After putting my toothbrush down, I examine my face in the mirror closely. _Something's weird here…_ Then I realized. My mom had sabotaged my wardrobe again. Pink flowers on my shirt. I pull it off quickly, yelling, "It's not going to work Mom! I may be an invalid, but I'm not blind!"

My mom calls back, nervously, "I don't know what you're talking about, sweetie!"

Back in black, I grab my backpack and attempt to head downstairs. _Attempt_ being the key word in that sentence. I forget my crutch and have to grab the banister for support. _Dammit…_

Maggie, our maid grabs it and hands it to me. "Here you go, Miss."

"Thank you so much, Maggie." I gush. I right myself, leaning against the crutch and hobbling down the stairs.

My mom greets me at the bottom. "Sam, honey, you now that I only want the best for you-"

\

I cut her off. "Mom, I'm not getting into anything bad. Everybody ignores me. Nobody's taking advantage of me, I'm not into drugs and I deal with the opposite of peer pressure." I hobble over to the cabinet to break out the Wheaties and soymilk.

My mom continues to follow me, clasping her hands in that worried way and cocking her head to the side. "Yes, dear, but I'm afraid this accident has brought the absence of friends in your life to light for your father and I."

I fumble for words, trying to come up with a logical answer. "I…have friends…"

She raises an eyebrow. My mother can be extremely sharp when she gets to it. "At your school, Samantha?"

"Yes!" I say, slightly offended. I'm invisible, not odious.

"Oh, really. Name a few."

I fumble again, pouring the soy on top of the cereal. "Um… Tucker Foley and… Danny Fenton." _Buy it, buy it, please buy it._

My mom buys it. She clasps her hands, happily this time. "Oh, you mean the charming boy from the accident?"

I roll my eyes. "Yes, mom. The kid that ran me over."

She tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Well, I, for one am extremely glad. I was thinking for a minute my daughter was a social outcast!" She laughs at this particularly witty comment. I groan. She continues. "And he's quite the looker, if I do say so myself." She walks out of the room before I can protest.

Heat rushes to my cheeks and I shovel in cereal. Anything to get out of here sooner.

Of course, knowing my luck, I don't get any form of reprieve.

As soon as I open the door to walk to school, the face of none other than the infamous Danny Fenton greets me. He has his hand raised, like he was going to knock on the door. He brings it down blushing and then scratches the back of his neck. "Uhhh… hi Sam."

I look at him inquisitively. "What the heck are you doing here?"

He looks shocked, but then smiles. "Are you always this polite in the morning?" He eyes my crutch apprehensively. "Do you need help?"

"No, I do not need help walking down stairs, thank you. I am not crippled yet, no thanks to you." I snap, sidling down the stairs. When I get to the bottom, I turn to him and run a hand through my hair. How should I put this? "Look, Danny… It's really nice of you to care and all, but really, I'm fine. I don't need your sympathy. I don't need friends. As soon as you give those books you bought to the library, I can cease to exist to you once more. You don't need to feel guilty."

Danny looks at me, bemused. "Ah, but you see, now that I know you're there, I can't ignore you. I'm fascinated. How do you pull off invisible? I thought only I could do that." He turns away suddenly, as if embarrassed.

"What?" I ask, curious. "What do you mean you can be invisible?"

"Nothing." He answers quickly. "Anyway, I don't want you to cease to exist. You seem like a pretty cool person."

"Yeah, no offense but what I'm hearing is 'I'm filled with guilt, accept the fact and move on.' Anyway, being not seen with me will probably hurt your social standing. You won't have any chance with Paulina."

He considers it and then stares at me. "Okay, you've got to stop the stalkerish thing. It really freaks me out." He nudges me with his elbow. "As flattering as it is to know somebody's _that_ interested in me."

I laugh. I feel light for the first time in a long time. Kind of… _happy_… ew. "For your information, Danny, I do not pay any special attention to anyone. I know more about everyone than I have any right to know."

He raises an eyebrow at me. We turn the last corner to school. It's in view. "Okay, hotshot, tell me something about…" He searches for a name. "Star."

I rattle off the information I know. "She dyes her hair with Platinum Sparkle, she's our age, she's failing Spanish, she hates Paulina, but hides it and…" I pause, building up the tension for the grand finale. "She has a huge crush on Nathan."

He raises his eyebrows. "Are you serious?" I nod, and he whistles. "Your good. Are you part of the FBI?"

I smile slightly. It was kind of nice talking to him. "I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to disclose that sort of information."

He laughs as we enter the school. Tucker runs up. "Hey, Danny! Hey Sam! Did you know they let out Technica 4.0?" Danny joins in the conversation.

I use my skill as the invisible girl to sneak away. It's simple, really. Back up slightly, until a crowd of people walks towards you and then walk inside that pack, hitching onto the conversation for a second or two. Once you're a hallway away, you can walk by yourself without detection.

I sigh, glad in my alone time. My Grandma calls me the Hermit sometimes. Maybe she's right. I muse as I grab my science textbook. I shut my locker slowly. _Maybe I should just be friends with Danny…No._

I walk down the hallway, drowning in the swirl of bodies. My naturally sharp ears pick up snatches.

"She did what?"

"Didja hear? Dash broke his arm! No more quarterback, I guess…"

"Seriously, do you like this shade? Because I was considering…"

"I don't think this is going to work out…"

"Hey, Sam." Somebody grabs the back of my arm. I shriek, whirl around and slam out my fist.

Danny ducks. He stares up at me incredulously before laughing a little. "Man, Sam, if I knew you were this high strung, I wouldn't have said anything to you in the first place."

I laugh nervously and put out a hand. "Sorry." He grabs my hand and I pull him up. I ask him. "How did you find me, anyway?"

He grins. "I admit it. It was hard. But finally I saw that purple ponytail holder and managed to find you. How did you manage to slip away so easily?"

I shrug. "Practice, I guess." We walk for a little while to Science.

Danny asks. "Why is your first instinct to hit people when they touch you?"

I run another hand through my hair. "I was bullied pretty hard at my old school. People would hit me and pull my hair and call me names. That's why I became invisible when I transferred here in eighth grade." I stop on shock. 'Why am I even telling you this? I didn't even tell my parents that!" I sigh. "You must think I'm being really stupid."

Danny looks at me, confused. "Sam, you're not stupid. You're not invisible either." He grabs my hands again. What is it with him and holding my hand? He shoots a grin at me and then I stop caring. Man, I'm starting to go ditzy…

I walked into the class and sat down in my usual seat. Center. The easiest spot, because everybody else either favors the front or the back. Almost nobody goes in the middle.

Except Danny. He plops into the seat next to me. As does Tucker. "What are you guys doing?" I hiss, a little scared.

Tucker grins. "Sammy, now that we now you're there, there is no way you're going to get us to leave you alone."

I sink down in my chair and start doodling. This was going to be a long day…

**This was a kinda funny/weird chapter. Tell me what you want to see.**


	4. In which Sam meets a jerk

I continued to lose them between classes. But they kept on finding me during them. At least one of them was in either of my classes. Tucker would just sit next to me and smile, or make some remark about Danny, which would make me blush and insult him. Danny would start talking about…. Anything. I didn't really pay too much attention. Either that or he'd grin at me. Like I was a lost dog his parents decided to let him keep. It was flattering, yet creepy.

I lucked out with a study hall last period. I'm walking home, content in my solitude. It's nice to have friends (However temporary they may be.) but I still like being alone. It's such a drastic change. Two days ago, nobody knew I existed and I drifted along. Now, I have two guys hanging over my shoulder and am being accused of crushing on a guy who ran me over.

I'm caught up in my thought, and the rhythm of swinging my crutches when I get hit from the side and topple over.

I land face down on the pavement, in slight pain and enraged. "What the HELL is your problem?" I say, not even turning to look. My books had spilled when my bag fell and I'm gathering them up, stuffing them back in.

"Sam? I mean, uh, Miss… Sorry."

I turn around, squinting from the glare of the sun behind the boy. "Danny?" It's clearly his voice. But what's making him sound all echo-ey?

"Danny? Uh…. ha ha…. Who's Danny? I'm Phantom. Or Inviso-bil…." He sounds really awkward and he does the familiar neck scratch thing that Danny does when he gets embarrassed. I should know. He was doing it constantly when Tucker was calling us lovebirds at lunch. The boy took a few steps back, making him visible.

It was Inviso-bil. Or Danny Phantom, as some people seem to call him. The ghost kid that Paulina has a huge crush on. I cock my head to the side. "I could've sworn…"

"Whelp! Your hide will make a nice rug for my living room!"

We both flinch from the mental image.

He takes a few steps back. "I have to… uh… go." He looks ready to take off.

"Wait!" _Why did I say that? And why does he sound like Danny?_

He waits expectantly.

I blush. "Never mind. See you."

He chuckles.

"What?" I say, indignantly.

"Well, most people freak out when they see me. All you say is 'See you.' You're really funny." He laughs again.

I crack a smile. He grins back. We stand there for a second, acting like idiots, just smiling at each other.

At least until a huge blast roars between us. _What the hell is that? Green slime? _A huge floating man in metal armor flies over, aiming a gun-thing on his wrist at the ghost kid. Phantom (whatever) backs away, eyes widening. He doesn't turn to me, but shouts, "RUN!"

Pfft. Yeah right. Even if I wasn't crippled, there is no way I'd run.

I search for something to throw at the guy. A thin math textbook lies in front of me on the ground. Perfect.

I manage to aim from my spot on the ground (sprained ankle, anyone?) and throwing it like a Frisbee. This is my lucky day. It catches the monster under the chin and wedges in the space between his helmet and chest. Eww.

"What is this?" It shrieks. Weird. Its voice seems higher.

I'm pretty freaked out, but I heave my history textbook at it. The ghost is knocked over. I chuckle. "Wow. I'm surprised that thing came in handy."

Phantom follows through and blasts the guy. When it lies on the ground, he sucks it into a… soup thermos?

"What do you do? Drown it in noodles?" I ask, staring at the silver tube.

He looks confused and then makes the connection. He laughs. "No. It's something my dad designed."

I have to raise an eyebrow at that. "You have a dad?"

He coughs, and then changes the subject. "Why didn't you run? You could've gotten hurt. Not that I don't appreciate the help."

I glare at him and shake a crutch in the air. He laughs nervously. "Oh. Right. Wow! Would you look at the time? I really got to go." He flew off.

"Jerk." I mutter under my breath. He left me on the ground, stole my history and math textbooks in his thermos thing and left me with my books scattered. What kind of guy does that?

Danny comes running up out of nowhere. "Sam! What's up?" He looks confused. "Why are you on the ground?"

"Because the ghost boy knocked me over, what do you think?" I practically snarl. I'm not happy, okay?

He backs away. "Whoa, tiger. Do you need help?" He starts gathering my books. I get the weird feeling again. Damn! He looks through my books. "Hey, you're missing your history and math boos. How did that happen?"

I manage to struggle onto one foot. I grumble before answering. "The ghost boy was sucking a ghost into a thermos and he got my books too."

He hands me my crutches, looking horrified. "I'm so sorry!"

What? "Why are you sorry? You didn't take them." I lean on my supports, happy for the stability and reach a hand out for my books.

He blushes and hands me my bag. "Oh, it was just…. I felt bad. And I can probably get them back for you. I'm a friend of Phantom." He puts emphasis on the ghost's name. Okay, then.

"Okay. Thanks." I start hobbling home. Danny starts following me. I sigh inwardly, but decide not to put up a fight. He did help me get up.

Tucker comes running up behind us. "Hey, Danny! Did you capture- " He stops suddenly when he sees me. "Did you capture… the… uh… books you got for Sam yet?"

I nearly snorted. It was so obviously a cover up. Best to play dumb and wait for something to slip. I turned to Danny, wide eyed.

He scratched the back of his neck. "They're at my house. Do you want to come over?" He turned to me hopefully.

Weird feeling again. MAKE IT STOP!

I blush and look at the ground. "How about tomorrow? My mom's kind of waiting for me. Do you think you could help me carry them to the library? I work there on Tuesdays, Thursdays and the weekends."

He gives me a crooked smile. Weird feeling alert. "Sure. I can drive you."

We both flinch at the same time. "Maybe not." We say at the same time. We look at each other and laugh.

Tucker rolls his eyes. "Lovebirds."


End file.
